Clicking sound when hand cranked

[zzdeck]

Have an aerovee turbo, first run yesterday, rough at lower RPMs, ran good at high RPMs. But afterward we hand rotated the engine and a clicking sound is heard, multiple times per revolution. Sounds similar to the impulse coupling on a slick mag. Any idea what might be causing this?

[Scott Todd]

I had the same symptom. Check this.



viewtopic.php?f=5&t=6028&start=20#p49452

[zzdeck]

Hi Todd. This is Dan Green. Got your message that you had he same thing. You said check this then there was no further information. Don’t know why. Could you re submit your info thanks Dan

[Bryan Cotton]

Hi Todd. This is Dan Green. Got your message that you had he same thing. You said check this then there was no further information. Don’t know why. Could you re submit your info thanks Dan

There was a link to another thread. It had a picture and said this:

Alternator stator epoxy potting cracked. I was getting a loud 'click' as each magnet crossed it pulling prop thru. Chucked it up in the lathe and took 0.020 off it. Some locals were worried the bigger gap would affect charging. I think only .005-0.010 actually came off metal parts before it was round and the crack lip disappeared. Seems to work fine. $400 saved if it holds up.

[mike.smith]

If it's the same click I had, check out my Kitlog site. Start here, including the video link, and move to the next pages for the fix.

http://www.mykitlog.com/users/display_l ... 197&row=72

[zzdeck]

Thanks Scott and Bryan! You both sent us down the right track. Our aerovee was assembled before we purchased it. The previous owner had hired a VW mechanic to assemble the engine. Don't know if the VW guy or the previous owner installed the stator. Regardless, after we removed the stator assembly plate we found that the stator screws were very loose, not even close to finger tight allowing the stator move around. We can only assume whoever installed it just forgot to tighten the bolts. The stator shows signs of abrasion, but we think it's okay. Luckily the engine only ran a few minutes or the stator would have been destroyed. We decided to reinstall the stator, TIGHTEN the bolts (using Locktite) and hope for the best. We'll know the next time we run the engine, which will be a few days as we're waiting on parts. The good news is the click is gone, so even if the stator is bad, it's a known problem, albeit a costly one to fix. Thanks again guys!

[gammaxy]

Make sure you are familiar with all the service bulletins: http://www.aeroconversions.com/support/aerovee_sb.html

ACV-SB-031312-A and ACV-SB-061714 might be relevant.

[mike.smith]

Thanks Scott and Bryan! You both sent us down the right track. Our aerovee was assembled before we purchased it. The previous owner had hired a VW mechanic to assemble the engine. Don't know if the VW guy or the previous owner installed the stator. Regardless, after we removed the stator assembly plate we found that the stator screws were very loose, not even close to finger tight allowing the stator move around. We can only assume whoever installed it just forgot to tighten the bolts.

In my case I built my engine and followed the instructions to the letter. The bolts still came loose. In my case much of what was in there was destroyed and required replacement. No problems since. Definitely follow the services bulletin, including using the primer.

[flyingbear]

I had the same exact issue recently and found that my magnet ring/stator had come loose. I checked it out and it was OK so I re-assembled with Locktite. No further problems.
Sounds like this is a common issue.
Glen Bradley
ONEX 0131

[flyingbear]

PS: the clicking noise was the magnets pulling the inner ring hard toward them, making a thud/clicking noise.The magnets are very strong and.thus. a noice/clicking was created. Easy fix. You do not have to pull the whole engine......just remove the back plate with the engine in place.
glen B